Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the Shankaracharya of Uttarakhand’s Jyotish Peeth, who questioned the “anti-Shastra” ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, on Sunday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for awakening the self-pride in Hindus.
In a video statement shared by news agency ANI, the Shankaracharya also stated that he is not anti-Modi and in fact an admirer of the prime minister for he has stood firm for Hindus.
“The truth is, with Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister, Hindus’ self-pride has awoken. This is not a small thing. We have said it several times publically, we are not anti-Modi but Modi’s admirers. We admire him because which other Prime Minister in independent India has been so brave, someone who stands firm for the Hindus?…We are not criticising anyone but he is the first such PM who supports Hindu sentiments…,” he said.
The Shankaracharya further said that they (the four Shankaracharyas) are not against PM Modi and praised several of his government’s decisions, including removal of Article 370, CAA and the Swachchta Abhiyaan.
“When Article 370 was scrapped, didn’t we welcome it? When the Citizenship Amendment Act came, didn’t we praise it? Did we obstruct PM Modi’s Swachchta Abhiyaan? We also praised how there was no disruption in the law and order situation after the Supreme Court ruled that Ram Temple will be built at the land,” Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand added.
He is one of the four Shankaracharyas, the supreme authority in Hindu religion, had earlier refused to go to the January 22 Ram Mandir consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.
He said that the temple is not fully constructed and that “Pran Pratishtha’ of incomplete temple is against Hindu scriptures.
“We are not anti-Modi, but we also can’t be anti-dharmashastra,” he had said.